J.K. Rowling Dispels The Origin Story Of Where The ‘Harry Potter’ Series Started
Image via JStone / Shutterstock.com and f11photo / Shutterstock.com
For years, fans of the Harry Potter series have been visiting iconic landmarks that were believed to be spots where author J.K. Rowling conceived the wizarding universe.
However, Rowling has since dispelled some of the rumors behind these places in a series of Twitter posts. A fan questioned Rowling about the Elephant House, a café in Edinburgh, which was believed to be the place where the author wrote most of her earlier books.
The website for the café described that the place “made famous as the place of inspiration to writers such as J.K. Rowling, who sat writing much of her early novels in the backroom overlooking Edinburg Castle.”
Rowling divulged that if she had to “define the birthplace” of the famous franchise, where she came up with the idea for the novels, it would be in a Manchester to London train.
The author knocked down some of the other rumors on Twitter, as well. The bookstore Livraria Lello, in Porto, Portugal, was said to be the inspiration behind the Hogwarts library but it turned out to be false as Rowling has never been there.
In fact, she was writing the books in another café in Rua Santa Catarina, a shopping district in Portugal. Rowling also revealed that the magical school of Hogwarts was not based on “one or other of Edinburgh’s schools.”
From all the Potter landmarks that people have assumed to be iconic, Rowling confessed that her favorite spot is a parking meter where fans would flock to as she had supposedly used it in Edinburgh when writing the Deathly Hallows. She simply dismissed it by saying, “I can’t drive.”
I was thinking of putting a section on my website about all the alleged inspirations and birthplaces of Potter. I’d been writing Potter for several years before I ever set foot in this cafe, so it’s not the birthplace, but I *did* write in there so we’ll let them off! https://t.co/xDOsrbiZwu
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 21, 2020
My favourite bit of utter nonsense about Potter landmarks is still this one. I can't drive. pic.twitter.com/szugSAkIOA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 21, 2020
This is the true birthplace of Harry Potter, if you define 'birthplace' as the spot where I put pen to paper for the first time.* I was renting a room in a flat over what was then a sports shop. The first bricks of Hogwarts were laid in a flat in Clapham Junction. pic.twitter.com/HVORnPVboK
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 21, 2020
[via CNN, cover image via JStone / Shutterstock.com and f11photo / Shutterstock.com]
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